A/N: Sorry this took so long to update, guys! I had total writers block! The next ep won't take so long to write, though, because I've already planned it all out. Yes, this episode is named after a line in the song Big Bang from Super Power.
Without further ado, I give you, Tiz's episode. Enjoy!
Episode 5: Thunder Crack Whenever Worlds Collide
Rufus sat beside Erica as she lay on her bed in her room, still asleep. She had not woken up since her battle with Peg yesterday, and it worried Rufus to no end. Why hadn't she woken up? Was she okay? Should Rufus do something? Could he do something? He didn't know. All he knew was that he was worried and he didn't know what to do.
He told Stephen about it. Of course, though, the oldest member of the Chaos Three had shown precious little concern for his companion. What did he care for Erica? He didn't care for anyone, not Rufus, not Erica, no one.
But, Rufus did care for Erica. Something horrible had happened to her, and now she couldn't wake up. She was hurt, and there was nothing Rufus could do to help her. He had never felt so helpless in his life as he did at that moment as he looked at her unconscious form. Even when she was asleep, she was so beautiful…
He gently pushed a stray hair out of her eyes and behind her ear, smiling sadly at her. Of course, if she had been awake, she would never have allowed him to do something like that. But, she wasn't awake. She was unconscious, and Rufus knew exactly who to blame; the Blue Ranger. She had done this to Erica, and she would pay. Somehow, Rufus would make her pay.
Michael Tisdale sat on the couch staring intently at the TV in front of him. His fingers flew across the controller in his hand, causing the figures on the screen to do various things. He was playing a RPG, his favorite genre of video games, and he was doing well, as always. He had beaten this game so many times now that he had lost count, but he never tired of beating it again.
Except for now. Boredom was creeping over him. Sighing, he turned off the game and stood up, stretching and yawning. Glancing at the clock on the wall, he saw that it was 2:37pm. He was supposed to meet his friends at the Overclocked Café at 3:00, so he decided to head over there now.
It didn't take him long to get there, since he lived pretty close to the café. He sat at their usual table and waited for the others to get there. He saw that Beth was working that day, and she came over to the table as he sat down.
"Hey, Tiz," she said, smiling brightly.
"Yo," was his short response. Most people might have thought he was being curt, but Beth knew that that was how Tiz always said "hi". "Some crowd today." There was obvious sarcasm in his voice as he looked around the nearly empty café.
Beth chuckled. "Yeah."
"It must be a bit of a relief."
The Green Ranger shrugged. "In a way, it is, because it means less work for me, but in a way, it kind of makes me sad, because it means that Del won't be around. It's nice having him to talk to, especially since he knows our secret."
Tiz nodded understandingly. It was nice to have one more person that they didn't have to keep their powers a secret from. Although Tiz didn't talk to Del much, he knew that Beth did, since the two of them both worked at the café.
Beth was just about to say something else when suddenly three teens came in and sat down. She smiled at Tiz. "I take my leave," she said, laughing. The Yellow Ranger laughed as well as she walked off, turning around and waving. "Later, Tiz," she said, going to the table where the newcomers had sat and taking their order. Tiz waved to her, then he folded his arms across his chest with his elbows on the table, leaning forward on his arms (A/N: I hope you can picture that!). He sighed, feeling bored, hoping his friends would come soon.
As if they had heard his wish and were making it come true, Tiz suddenly heard the voices of Peg and Dan behind him. He smiled as he turned to look at them. They were walking right next to each other, talking and laughing. The Yellow Ranger sighed softly. He could tell that Dan liked Peg, but he knew that he was too scared to admit it. Tiz couldn't see why, though. It was obvious that Peg felt the same way about him. He shook his head. Love was so stupid sometimes.
The two came over and sat across from him. Dan reached across the table and gave Tiz a half high five, half handshake (A/N: I hope you can picture that as well! Guys do it all the time. I can't think of any other way to describe it, though).
"Hey, Tiz," he said. Peg echoed the greeting.
"Yo," the Yellow Ranger responded. Beth came over then and smiled at them.
"Hey, guys," she said. "Can I get you anything? Or do you want to wait for Sean?" Dan thought for a moment.
"We might as well order now," he said. "Sean always seems to be late lately."
"Yeah, I've noticed that," Beth said.
"You would," Tiz muttered under his breath, smiling to himself. No one else heard him, though, which was just as well for him. Beth took their orders and went over to the counter to give them to Will.
Stephen watched through the telescope, but nothing was happening right now. He yawned. This was boring. He had more important things to do than watching a bunch of teenagers sit around talking, didn't he? Of course he did! Walking away from the telescope, he glanced over at Rufus, who was sitting and reading his book. He always seemed to be reading lately, although he refused to let the others know exactly what he was reading. Oh, well, Stephen thought. Who cared what he was reading?
"Hey, go watch the telescope for a while," he said in his usual gruff voice. Rufus stood up immediately, shoving his book in his back pocket and running over to the telescope eagerly. Little did Stephen know that this is what he had been waiting for all day. Peering through the lens of the telescope, he saw the three teens sitting at the table in the Overclocked Café. They were talking and laughing, as he could see by looking. If only he could hear what they were saying as well!
His gaze through the telescope shifted to the Blue Ranger. Anger filled his heart as he glared at her. He had to find a way to get back at her for what she did to Erica. He mentally chastised himself for not listening more closely when Erica was telling Stephen everything she had learned about Peg. At the time, he had been too absorbed in his book to pay attention to what she said. Now, he needed to find out something, anything about the Blue Ranger that he could use against her to get his revenge for what she did to Erica.
He didn't want to ask Stephen what Erica had told him about Peg for two reasons. One, the oldest member of the Chaos Three would yell at Rufus for not paying attention, and two, he would try to take over and do this himself. Rufus couldn't let that happen. He was the one who wanted revenge on the Blue Ranger, and he had to be the one to get it, without Stephen's help.
But how could he find out what he wanted to know about Peg? He couldn't hear what they were saying, and it's not like he could read their minds or anything…
Then, it hit him. His eyes turned to the Yellow Ranger. He had the power of Thunder, and Rufus had Dark Thunder, meaning that there was a connection between the two. Although there was a big difference between Thunder and Dark Thunder, there was still a chance that the connection was enough that Rufus would be able to read Tiz's thoughts. All of the members of the Chaos Three could read the minds of those with the same Element as theirs. They had never tested it against those with the opposite Element, though, and Rufus wasn't sure if it would work. But, he knew it was his only chance, and he had to try.
Closing his eyes, he focused all his thought and energy on the Yellow Ranger, trying to get into his head. Random thoughts floated through Rufus' mind; thoughts of Erica, thoughts of Stephen, thoughts of his home on Trienith, thoughts of Fire Emblem…
Wait. That last though hadn't been his. It must have been Tiz's thought. It worked! Rufus was reading the Yellow Ranger's mind! Now, he had to see if he could find out what he was looking for. Concentrating as hard as he could, he delved deeper into Tiz's mind, trying to find out anything the boy knew about the Blue Ranger.
At last, he found something that made him smile. Peg had a crush on the Red Ranger, it seemed. Perfect, Rufus thought. Now, he knew what he had to do to get his revenge on her; he had to kidnap Dan.
Dan, Tiz, and Peg sat around the table, talking and laughing, still waiting for Sean to come.
The door opened to the café, and the three friends looked to see who was coming in, half expecting it to be Sean. Instead, they saw Angela and her boyfriend walk in. The two walked over to the table and smiled at them. Angela had her arms wrapped around one of his as they walked side by side.
"Hey, guys!" she said in her usual cheerful voice as they got to the table.
"Hey, Angela," Peg said. "Hey, Jorge," she added, smiling at her sister's boyfriend.
"Hey, guys," Jorge said, smiling and waving slightly. Dan and Tiz said their greetings, and then Angela and Jorge went and sat at the table next to them. Then, Sean came running in, looking tired and a bit breathless. He sat at the table next to Tiz as Beth brought their drinks over.
"Hi, guys," he said, panting a little. "Sorry I'm late. I had something to take care of."
"It's okay," Tiz said with a chuckle. "You're late so much lately we've gotten used to it." He grinned at the White Ranger. Sean glared at him in mock anger and punched him softly in the arm, laughing. The others laughed with them, including Beth and Tiz.
"Hey, Sean," the Green Ranger said, smiling at him. She handed the others their drinks. "Can I get you anything?"
"Hi, Beth," he said, returning the smile. "I'm dying of thirst," he added with a laugh before giving her his order. She wrote it on her notepad and walked away to the counter.
"So," Dan said, giving Sean a serious look. "What's this big, important thing you had to take care of?"
His friend paused for a second, looking down at the table. Then, he looked up again and smiled at Dan. "It's nothing," he said as Beth came back and set his drink in front of him. "Thanks, Bethy," he said, looking up at her. She nodded, then walked away to another table to take their order. She was the only one who noticed that the smile on Sean's face looked almost forced, and she could tell that something was bothering him.
That evening, Dan walked home by himself, making his way slowly. He sighed. Today was Friday, and school started again on Monday. Spring Break was so close to being over, and it was a bit depressing. It certainly hadn't been the most relaxing break he'd ever had, but it was probably the most interesting. So much had happened this week, and he felt like an entirely different person than he had been before break.
As he turned down the corner of his block, he stopped suddenly, feeling that something was wrong. Then, in a flash of dark purple, a large group of Crodus appeared in a circle around him. He got in a fighting stance.
"What do you guys want?" he asked, smiling grimly, knowing that they couldn't understand him or respond to him. The Crodus started closing in around him as Dan prepared to fight. Just as he was about to kick one away, he felt a shock of pain jolting through his body. He cried out in agony as he collapsed to the ground, falling on his back. The last thing he saw before darkness took him was a boy, who looked about 20 years old, leaning over him, looking at him evilly. Sparks of electricity seemed to come from his fingers. Then, Dan blacked out.
The next day, Peg walked into the café, her face pale and expressionless, clutching a folded piece of paper. Beth, Sean, and Tiz were seated at their usual table, but the Blue Ranger didn't join them. She stared blankly forward as she walked straight up to the counter where Will was making drinks. She unfolded the paper she was holding and set in on the counter as Will turned to look at her.
"What's wrong, Peg?" he asked, a concerned look on his face. She simply pointed to the paper and said nothing as the other three Rangers walked up to them.
"What's going on?" Sean asked as Will picked up the paper and read it silently. He gasped slightly and his face paled over. Tiz took the paper from him and read it to himself. When he finished, he passed it to Sean and looked at Will oddly.
"What do we do now?" he asked as Sean read the paper. Beth leaned over his shoulder and read it as well.
"Oh, my goodness!" Beth exclaimed before Will had a chance to respond. "Dan's been kidnapped? How is that possible?" She was getting worked up and talking a bit too loud. A few people in the café turned to look at them, but they soon looked away again. Sean laid a hand gently on Beth's back.
"Hey, it's okay," he said in a gentle, quiet voice. "We'll find him." She calmed down a little at his touch, but the look of worry didn't leave her face. All four of them turned to Will, looking at him expectantly, waiting for him to answer Tiz's question.
"I don't know what to do," he said. "Rufus is extremely powerful. He has the power of Dark Thunder. While Stephen is much stronger than him, he still has amazing power, and he's incredibly dangerous."
"Then, what are we going to do?" Sean asked. "We have to save Dan somehow."
Will turned to Tiz and gave him a serious look. "I was talking to Dan a few days ago," he began. "I asked him if something ever happened to him who he would choose to lead the Rangers in his place. He chose you, Tiz. He told me that he trusted you to lead his team if he was gone."
Tiz just stared at him, almost in disbelief. Dan chose him to be the leader? Why him? Couldn't Sean or Peg do a better job than him? Apparently, Dan didn't think so. He trusted Tiz as more than just his best friend. He trusted him as a leader. The Yellow Ranger would have liked a moment to think that over and let it sink in, but Will started talking again almost immediately.
"With that said, it is now up to you to make a decision on what to do. I can give you information and advice, but you have do decide what action to take." He took the note from Sean and looked at it again. "We cannot do what the letter demands," he said firmly. "Peg cannot go alone to this place. It's too dangerous. If it had been Stephen, any of you could have fought him and had and almost equal chance, although Peg would have been the best choice, as Fire, or Dark Fire, is weaker against Water. If it had been Erica, it would be the same thing; any of you would have a chance against her, although Tiz's Thunder would have been best, as Water, or Dark Water, conducts electricity. But it's different with Dark Thunder. While Stephen's Dark Fire is more powerful, Dark Thunder has no direct weaknesses, but it is strong against Water. If you send Peg there as the letter says, she will almost certainly be defeated.
"The only one of your powers that has a chance to match Dark Thunder is Tiz's power of Thunder. It is said that two of the same or similar Elements are strong against each other. We saw that when Peg fought Erica. Since Thunder is almost directly connected with Dark Thunder, it should be strong against it. Of course, this has never been tested, and it is not known for sure, but my advice is that you take that chance and go, Tiz. It is only advice, though. You must make the final decision."
The Yellow Ranger stood there for a moment, looking down at the counter, saying nothing. This was a lot to take in, and it was a big decision to make. At last, he sighed and looked up.
"I'm going," he said in a firm, resolute tone. "And I'm going alone." The others just nodded silently. Beth gave Tiz a hug, and he hugged her back, forcing a smile.
"Good luck, Tizzy," she whispered as she pulled away. Sean shook his hand.
"Good luck, man." The Yellow Ranger nodded, and he turned and left the café, clutching the note in his hand.
Dan opened his eyes slowly. His hand went to his head as he tried to quell the dizziness he was feeling. Where in the world was he? Looking around, he saw that he was in a small room with three walls of brick and one of long, black metal bars. He was sitting on a cot hanging from the wall. It all seemed like a jail cell. Had he been arrested or something? He racked his brain to try to remember what had happened last night…
Oh, yeah, he was attacked by Crodus, and then zapped by some guy. That was the last thing he remembered. How long had he been out? He glanced down at his morpher and saw that it was 7:28am. He had been asleep all night, at least.
Sitting up on the cot, he tried to think of where he could be. Obviously, he wasn't in jail, just something that looked like a jail cell. But, where would there be something like that? Then, it hit him. He must be at the abandoned jailhouse that was right outside of town. It was a small, ancient place that had been there for decades. No one ever bothered to knock it down or anything because it wasn't in anyone's way. They just left it there, closing it up to prevent people from going inside. The police tape didn't stop anyone, though, and Dan had been here with his friends on a few occasions. It had been a long time since his last visit, though.
Now, the question was, how was he going to get out of here? The bars were real jail bars, and they were made of thick metal. Maybe he could shoot a fireball at them. If he could melt them with his fire, he could easily get out. He stood up and walked over to the bars, reaching out to touch them. He drew his hand back immediately, though. Something seemed off about them, and he now heard a strange, soft, electric crackle. Were the bars electrified somehow? He didn't want to take that chance, so he went back and sat on the cot, staying away from the bars.
Suddenly, he heard a laugh coming from somewhere ahead of him. The noise was soft at first, but it gradually got louder as a figure appeared out of the shadows. It wore a black cloak with a hood, and there were yellow streaks on the back of it. As it drew near, Dan could see the face in the light that hung above him in his cell. It was the boy he had seen yesterday before he blacked out! The boy who had kidnapped him. Standing up in anger, Dan glared at him.
"Who are you?" he demanded. The boy laughed again.
"Well, I see no harm in you knowing that," he said, his tone sounding evil, yet forced. "I am Rufus, the youngest of the Chaos Three, wielder of the power of Dark Thunder."
Dan just stared at him for a moment. This was the third member of the Chaos Three? Now, he had seen all of them face to face, and he hated each of them. Thinking quickly, he realized that this would be the perfect time to send a fireball at the bars and melt them, allowing him to escape. He started to create one in his hands, but before he had a chance to throw it, he felt a shock of electricity in his body like the one he had felt last night. Crying out in pain, he collapsed to the ground. Rufus walked up to the bars and put his hand on them, leaning forward to look at the now unconscious Dan. Grinning, he chuckled and walked away, disappearing into the shadows.
Peg, Beth, and Sean walked back to their table and sat down silently. No one could find anything to say. They were too worried about their friends for talking. Each of them was lost in their own thoughts when Angela and Jorge came in, talking and laughing. They came over to the table and sat next to Peg on her side.
"Hey, guys," Angela said brightly. The others muttered a greeting, then went back to silence. Angela looked confused. "Well, you guys are a lot of fun today," she said sarcastically after a pause.
"I noticed," Jorge said with a smile. "Is something wrong?" The three Rangers gave each other questioning looks. What were they going to do? They obviously couldn't tell Angela and Jorge what was wrong, but they had to say something. After a moment's thought, Sean opened his mouth to speak. But, before he had a chance to say anything, Jorge spoke again.
"Where are Dan and Tiz?" he asked. "You five are always together, aren't you? I'd say you're almost joined at the hip." He laughed at that, and his girlfriend joined him. The others forced laughs as well, trying to make it seem like nothing was wrong.
"They're, um, somewhere else," Sean said slowly. "I'm not entirely sure where, but hopefully they'll be here later."
"I sure hope so," Jorge responded, smiling. After a short, awkward silence, Angela spoke up.
"So, school starts again on Monday," she said with a groan. "I swear these breaks are never long enough."
Beth smiled. "I know," she said. "And this break was so boring, wasn't it?" She smiled playfully at Peg and Sean, who smiled back, knowing exactly what she was talking about.
Angela nodded in agreement. "Yeah, but at least it's better than being in school, right? And then there was that whole thing with the Power Rangers. That was pretty exciting."
"It sure was," Jorge agreed. "I mean, how cool is it to have a team of Power Rangers in our town?"
"It's pretty cool," Sean said, smiling, trying not to look suspicious. "I only wish we knew who they were."
"I know," Angela said. "Wouldn't it just be so cool if they were people we knew? Like from school or something?"
"Yeah," Beth agreed. "But, that will never happen."
"Well, you never know," Jorge said. "Maybe one day we'll find out who they are. That would be awesome!" The others nodded in agreement and continued talking, all except for Peg. She sat silently next to her sister, not paying any attention to what was going on around her. Only Angela noticed that something was wrong, but she decided not to mention it right now. She would be sure to find out what was bothering her later, though.
Tiz looked at the abandoned jailhouse and sighed. He remembered coming here with Dan when he was younger. The two of them used to love exploring the place, with its dark corners, empty, unlocked cells, and dangerous, crumbling walls. There was a sense of danger here, and it had always served as an interesting place to hang out.
Now, it was the place where Dan had been taken by Rufus. Why he had chosen here of all places to take the kidnapped Red Ranger was beyond Tiz, but he decided that it didn't really matter why. All that mattered was that Dan was here, and it was up to Tiz to save him.
Cautiously, he entered the abandoned building between the broken boards on the door, just as he had so many times before. The place was as dark and dirty as he remembered, and the thick dust was almost suffocating. The windows were boarded up, shutting out the sunlight and causing utter blackness. Tiz could hardly see, even when his eyes adjusted to the dark. He needed to get some light in there, but how? Then, he remembered his power. Shooting a bit of electricity between his index finger and thumb on his right hand, the Yellow Ranger was able to make enough light to see by. Now, he just had to find out where Dan was and get out of there, hopefully without being seen by Rufus.
Of course, Tiz knew that there was no chance of them getting out unnoticed. Rufus was sure to be watching. After all, he was holding Dan captive, and this was supposed to be a trap. He couldn't imagine why the letter had been addressed to Peg of all the Rangers, though. It made sense that Rufus would capture the Red Ranger, because he was their leader. But why did he want Peg to be the one to try and save him?
Then, Tiz realized why. It was Peg who had fought that Erica girl, and Rufus was probably looking for revenge or something. Too bad, he thought. He was going to get more than he bargained for, and Tiz wasn't going to let him get away with kidnapping his best friend.
Making his way through the lobby of the building, he finally got to the back where the cells were. Dan must be in one of these, right? He walked down the row of cells, looking in each one. It made it easier that there were lights in these cells, although how they were running after all this time Tiz didn't know. Probably Rufus' doing, he thought grimly. It didn't take him long to find Dan, as there were only 10 cells in the small jailhouse.
He grinned at his friend, who stood up from the cot immediately when he saw him.
"I always knew I'd have to bail you out of jail sooner or later," Tiz said, shaking his head at him.
Dan glared at him playfully. "Just get me out of here," he said in mock exasperation. Tiz reached over to grab the door of the cell. "Wait!" Dan exclaimed before he had touched it. "It's electrified."
Tiz raised his eyebrows at him and smiled. "So am I," he said simply, grabbing the door and opening it. He could feel small pulses of electricity flowing around the bars, but they didn't hurt him at all. "Come on, let's get out of here." Dan walked over to him and they turned to leave. But, before they had a chance, Tiz felt a strong electrical shock hit him in the back. It didn't hurt him as much as it had hurt Dan, but it hurt enough. Turning around, he saw, unsurprisingly, Rufus standing there, his hand outstretched, electricity still crackling at his fingertips.
"What are you doing here?" the Chaos Three member demanded. "It was supposed to be the Blue Ranger who came, not you."
"Sorry," Tiz said sarcastically. "There was a change of plans. But don't worry; I'm plenty good enough for you!" With that, he sent an electric wave at Rufus, who dodged it deftly. The Yellow Ranger turned back to Dan. "Stay here," he said. "This is between me and him, and Will said that my power is the only one that can defeat him." The Red Ranger nodded at him and stood back out of the way.
Tiz turned back to Rufus and smiled at him. "Let's go."
"Gladly," his opponent replied. He shot a beam of thunder at Tiz, who managed to dodge it. Rufus' electricity was a darker yellow, and there was a thin layer of blackness around it. Tiz's was much lighter, and it shone with a layer of white light. He ran up to Rufus and kicked him, sending a shock through his leg at him. Rufus flew back a bit, but soon retaliated with an electrified punch to Tiz's stomach. The Yellow Ranger keeled over in pain, but he got up quickly and punched his enemy in the face. Glaring at him, Rufus kicked Tiz's legs out from under him, causing him to fall on his back. From his place on the ground, Tiz sent a shock at his enemy's feet, causing him to fall as well. He jumped on top of him before he had a chance to move and put his hand on his back. Then, he sent a powerful electric current into him, focusing all his energy on it. Rufus screamed in pain.
Tiz stood up and went back over to where Dan was standing, staring at him in awe. He felt exhausted now, having used all his energy in that last shock. Rufus lay on the ground looking at them, obviously exhausted and hurt as well. His expression was not angry or vengeful, though. It was a look of respect as he faced Tiz, something neither of the Rangers had expected to see.
Before they could do anything else, a figure materialized in front of Rufus. It was Stephen, and he glared at the Rangers with anger and hatred. Looking down at his companion, he spoke to him.
"Get us out of here," he said. Rufus nodded painfully.
"Okay, Stephen," he replied. As soon as he said the name, the two disappeared in flashes of Red and Yellow respectively, leaving Dan and Tiz to stare at the spot where they had just been.
The two Chaos Three members appeared back in the main room of the tower. Rufus was still lying down, his body tingling with pain. Stephen reached down and helped him stand up, much to the surprise of the younger boy. As long as he had known him, Stephen had never done anything nice for him before. He stared at him in bewilderment as he began talking.
"Although your plan failed, Rufus," he said. "At least you had a plan. You took charge and action. You didn't just sit back and let things happen. You tried to take revenge, and for that, I commend you. You just might make a good villain someday. And, someday soon, you might be ready."
The boy stared at him, shocked. Had Stephen just complimented him? Was that even possible? He couldn't believe his ears. But, what did he mean by the last thing he said?
"R-ready for what?" Rufus stammered. He couldn't think of anything else to say right now.
"You'll see when the time is right." With that, Stephen grinned at him, then walked off to his room.
Rufus still couldn't get over the compliment he had received from his superior. It was totally unexpected, especially after a failure like the one he had experienced today. Oh, well, he thought. A compliment is a compliment, and it still meant a lot to him.
He went into Erica's room and sat gently at the foot of her bed, watching her as she slept. Why wouldn't she wake up? He laid his hand on hers and looked down sadly.
"I'm sorry I failed you, Erica," he whispered, letting a tear fall down his cheek.
A/N: I hope you liked it! Leave a review!
